This salad is a combination of a number of nutrient dense foods. Sweet potatoes are a dietary staple of the Okinawans, one of the “blue zones”, where one of the longest living populations on the planet live. Quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse from South America, and was a favorite food of the Incas. Cooked like grains and often thought to be a grain, it is actually a seed. Green leafy vegetables are the top of the pile when it comes to nutrient density and rocket is one of the most nutritious of the green leafy vegetables. Pomegranates are one of the fruits containing very high levels of anti-oxidants.
In order to reach its full potential, a tasty salad needs to be accompanied by a great dressing in my view and our tahini lemon dressing really helps this salad achieve greatness. The symphony of flavors makes for a wonderful salad.
Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 150 grams of quinoa
- 350 grams of sweet potato 1 medium sweet potato
- 100 grams of asparagus*
- 1 avocado
- a bunch of fresh rocket
- 2 spring onions
- 1/3 of a pomegranate **
- nutritional yeast optional
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice the sweet potato. Lay some parchment paper on a roasting tin roast the sweet potato in the oven for 40 min at 175 degrees Celsius (no oil needed). Give the tin a shake every now and again
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions
- Steam the asparagus for about 7 minutes until soft (or boil if you don't have a steamer)
- Once the quinoa is cooked drain it and let it cool down
- Chop up the asparagus once cooked, leaving the more fibrous ends aside
- Set aside the sweet potatoes once cooked
- Place a bed of rocket in a salad bowl. Add the quinoa, the roasted sweet potato, the asparagus, the sliced avocado, the chopped spring onion, the pomegranate seeds and the nutritional yeast
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Drizzle with some tahini dressing over the salad and mix
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